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xAI Data Center Emits Plumes of Pollution, New Video Shows
(www.desmog.com)
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this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2025
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The linked video is a bit unclear to me. The don't explain the modes well. Mostly it seems to just show heat. According to the description it's a Teledyne FLIR G620, which should be able to detect Methane and other VOCs. But it's not clear to me how we are supposed to distinguish hot rising CO2 and H2O from any potentially leaking Methane, in those pictures.
Video in question https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4prazMVylRs
It really does just look like heat dissipation from rooftop heat exchangers, not gasses out of an exhaust. I'm sure that building uses (and wastes) an ungodly amount of power, but I'd imagine it's grid-tied, and therefore any noxious gases are being generated elsewhere (with the exception of on-site backup generators).
I'm all for telling AI to fuck off, but let's at least have the facts straight.
I don't know if they got the substation built, but last year they weren't able to get enough power from the grid, so installed 14 generators (at 2.5mw each) to cover their needs
https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/elon-musks-xai-data-center-adding-to-memphis-air-quality-problems-campaign-group/